Don't Fall In Love
by loraney
Summary: This is a Constellations side-fic. It doesn't quite stand on it's own, so those who haven't read Constellations will probably only enjoy this if they just love to see Shikamaru tortured. ;-


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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In Constellations, I passed along a piece of wisdom from a published writer; Don't fall in love with your own writing. The deal I made with myself was that I could still post extraneous scenes as possible side-fics if I loved them that much. (I'm guessing that is where most writers get their side-fics.)

I went through my 'scrap heap' and even though I did take out a lot of scenes from both Constellations and All In (shit-canned a ton of torture scenesfrom All In), there was really only one scene worth putting up here.

So with no further ado, this was part of Chapter 33. It was set immediately before Naruto's death. The bold type is the online version, the regular type is what I took out and put in and took out and…you get the idea…

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**The next day, while Sasuke was frantically ransacking the Uchiha library, Neji and Naruto sat outside watching the children much as they had the other day, Naruto leaning against Neji's chest. His knees were up and the baby was propped in the cradle made by that position. He was piled on a thick layer of blankets to protect him from the heat of Naruto's body.**

**Naruto had tried to hold him close earlier and the baby had thrashed and fussed, then started to wail at the discomfort. After thrusting the baby at Neji, Naruto had dropped to his knees and sobbed over not being able to hold his son one last time.**

**Neji had gathered a stack of blankets and made a nest in the crook of Naruto's hips and now the baby was swatting at Naruto's fingers in delight.**

**"It's going to be rough around here for a while," Naruto finally said. "Have patience with him."**

**"I'm not going anywhere."**

**"I almost feel like the lucky one."**

**Neji nodded. "Yes. He and I have both been left behind. We would gladly trade places with you."**

**"This time, you'll have each other. And now a family."**

**"That will make all the difference."**

**"I'm so glad. I want you both to be happy again." Naruto squeezed Neji's hand. "I love you both so much." He wrapped a wild blond curl around the tip of his finger. "I love all of you so much."**

**That night, Sasuke sat next to Naruto after urging him to get some rest. The bed was covered in towels as blood would sporadically stream from Naruto's mouth, nose, eyes and ears as smaller blood vessels would burst from the stress on his body.**

**And a few hours earlier they found Naruto sitting in a small pool of blood that seeped from his penis and rectum. Larger and larger internal organs were failing and Naruto had stopped eating and drinking the day before.**

**Still he smiled and chatted with Sasuke, keeping the topics to the antics of the children or the weather. And when Sasuke told him to try to sleep, he just nodded and went willingly to lie down. He didn't really think he'd be able to sleep, because there wasn't a part of him that wasn't screaming in agony, but he could lie with his eyes closed for a while if it would keep Sasuke with him for a few hours. This time, he knew, would be the last.**

Naruto closed his eyes and tried to rest, hoping to prolong his life by every minute he could. After several shallow breaths he found his mind turning inward of its own accord.

Kyuubi wanted to talk to him.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"You said my name."

"I find you worthy."

Naruto's pain disappeared. "Did I die?"

"Not yet. It is a small favor so that I may speak to you. Before we see what lies beyond."

"Thanks. Hey, for what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Indeed?"

"Well, yeah. If I had to spend twenty five years in a windowless prison…"

"I have lived for eons; this has been but a second. As for windowless; I have enjoyed a vastly entertaining life through your eyes."

Naruto grinned.

"You could have ruled the world," Kyuubi said.

"I can't keep my sock drawer organized. What would I do with the world?"

The demon was quiet, waiting.

"Anyway, he loved these people enough to die for them. He…would have been disappointed in me."

"Your honor and integrity are equaled only by his. He would have been proud of you."

Naruto looked at his visceral feet.

"For that, I have a gift for you."

"Really? What?

"A look into the future."

Naruto's face fell. "Do I want to see it?"

"I only understand humans to a point, but I think you'll be pleased."

Naruto's mind suddenly filled with a kaleidoscope of images.

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_Sasuke stood in an unfamiliar hallway. A tall, broad shouldered blond man came to stand before him. He bowed to Sasuke and placed a small bundle in his arms. _

_"Father, I would like your permission to name him Naruto."  


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_

_Sasuke was laughing so hard he could hardly walk._

_"That is the clearest..." he wheezed for a moment, "example of the lunatics," he swiped his eyes, "running the asylum I have ever..." he threw his arm over Neji's shoulder and couldn't continue._

_Neji just shook his head and walked beside him up the porch steps to their home._

_Naruto laughed as, in his mind's eye, he saw the previous hour of his lovers' afternoon._

_Neji, Sasuke, Shikamaru and, Shikaku, Shikamaru's father sat around a tiny table, their knees jammed under their chins. All four men had dark haired girls, in a stair-step range of ages, hovering behind them, twisting ribbons and flowers into their hair. Neji had a sparkling crown perched on top of his head._

_"Son," Shikaku, who was absently holding a handful of hairpins, said, "We really need to talk about this."_

_"Yes, Father," Shikamaru said. "Tea?"_

_"What? Oh. Yes." Shikamaru placed an miniature pink cup in front of his father, picked up an equally diminutive pink tea pot and poured a generous helping of steaming...nothing...into the cup. He looked at Neji and Sasuke. "Tea?"_

_Neji just stared, his expression inscrutable. Two tiny girls behind him were humming quietly, focused on the braids they were pinning in loops by his ears, but Sasuke, his eyes watering in mirth, bit his cheek and waved his hand. "Absolutely." _

_Shikamaru nodded and poured another serving of air into his cup._

_Then he turned back to his father. "Sugar?" He placed a spoon in a dainty, and empty, sugar bowl._

_"Yes, please," Shikaku nodded distractedly. "Just one."_

_Sasuke chewed on his cheek as Shikamaru placed one spoon of nothing in his father's cup._

_"Anyway, son…first of all, congratulations on the birth of the twins today. But seriously, while I appreciate your continued efforts to try to have a boy, I really wonder if you and Hinata even have it in you."_

_Shikamaru's head dropped._

_"Nine girls is really just..." his father continued in a shaky voice. _

_"I know," Shikamaru sighed. Then he picked up an empty plate. "Cookie?"_

_"Just one," Shikaku said. "Gotta watch it, you know," he continued, patting his midsection. "I'm not as active as I used to be." And then gingerly poked and then picked the most appetizing bit of nothing on the plate._

_"I really think you should speak with Tsunade and just appreciate..." He stopped and leaned toward his son. "Shikamaru, can you imagine TEN or, god forbid, ELEVEN daughters?"_

_The plate fell out of Shikamaru's limp fingers._

_Later, as Sasuke and Neji entered their own kitchen, Sasuke had finally gotten his laughter under control. They found a strapping, teenage boy with lilac-eyes and long, silky, jet black hair leaning against the counter._

_Sasuke fell over Neji's shoulder in gales of laughter again as the boy straightened and put his hands on his hips. "Hey, she said that was MY tiara."_

_In the delighted, happy laughter, Naruto could feel the peace and happiness that lived in his family's hearts Life went on and joy returned.  


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_

_"Here it comes." There was a hush over the desert as a large crowd stood under the stars, awaiting the coming of the new year._

_A sea of people from every country on earth was gathered around a gigantic spiky mound of iridescent crystals shooting out of the ground in a glittering display. _

_Sasuke, stooped and grayed, raised a hand and closed his eyes. "Five, four, three, two, one," he said, then opened his eyes._

_Cheers erupted from the throng as another glassy spike pierced the earth and grew skyward, twenty feet into the air. Naruto knew, from the information Kyuubi placed in his head, that two dozen sages, Uchiha and Uzumaki, stationed around the globe, had sent their chakra in a precisely timed push, through the earth to this location. Here they merged into one, rearranging molecules and sprouting from the land itself, adding to this prismatic collection of crystals, this monument in the no man's land between countries. _

_"One hundred spikes. One hundred years of peace."  


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_

"Have you always known the future?"

"Futures are always changing. Each time paths cross or converge, futures change."

"So mine changed when I met Sasuke?"

"It is interesting. As much as I wished differently, yours and mine have never changed. Your path, your dedication to your path has never wavered. You love him, all of them, buy never enough to sacrifice the world. So his future changed the day you two met, but yours did not. So, too, did Hyuuga, Tsunade, Jiraiya and many others. Some for good, some for ill. The future I just showed you is because they now walk your path.

"But this day, for you, for me, never changed."

"Thank you for not telling me until now. And I am sorry we have to die." Naruto looked hopeful. "Do you know what comes after death?"

"No. To my knowledge, your friend, the other vessel, is the only creature who has returned from the dead. For me, it is still an exciting new adventure."


End file.
